Up to 25 percent of heart attacks do not have pronounced symptoms, but this is no less dangerous. And in the summer at the dacha, heart problems become more frequent. aif.ru told about this cardiologist, National Medical Research Center of Cardiology named after N.N. ak. E.I. Chazov of the Ministry of Health of Russia Roman Shakhnovich:
First of all, it is important to know that in the country, strokes and heart attacks do not occur more often than in the conditions of habitual life in the city, but they still happen. There are a number of features of life outside the city that need to be considered, especially for the elderly and in the presence of heart disease. Many people tend to the country to do gardening and unusually hard physical labor. Intense physical activity can contribute to the development of a heart attack or stroke.
Prolonged exposure to the sun and insufficient fluid intake against the background of active sweating can lead to dehydration, which increases the likelihood of developing thrombotic blockage of blood vessels, which leads to the development of a stroke or heart attack. Sudden changes in body temperature and the environment affect vascular tone, which can lead to fluctuations in blood pressure and pulse. So, when dousing with cold water, swimming in cool waters, a spasm of blood vessels can develop, including the coronary and cerebral arteries that feed the heart and brain. When you leave a cool room outside, on the contrary, there is an expansion of blood vessels, which can lead to a decrease in blood pressure.
Elderly people, leaving for the country, sometimes forget their medicines, replenish the first-aid kit irregularly, miss the prescribed therapy, which, of course, can lead to sad consequences.
A very important circumstance that must be taken into account before a trip to the country is the availability of medical care. You should find out the approximate time of arrival of the ambulance and the possibility, if necessary, of timely hospitalization in a qualified medical facility. If the dacha is located far from the district center and / or a poor-quality road leads to it, then it is right for the elderly and people with CVD to refrain from such summer holidays.
You should refrain from working in the garden with an increase or decrease in blood pressure, shortness of breath or chest pain during exercise and, especially, at rest. You should not work in the garden and with a headache, dizziness.
If during work you experience shortness of breath, chest pain, palpitations, headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, cold sweat and other alarming symptoms, you must immediately stop physical activity. If the symptoms do not go away at rest, call an ambulance.
What to do if you have a heart attack or stroke?
At the slightest suspicion of the development of a heart attack or stroke, you should immediately seek help.
1. Call an ambulance. While the ambulance is on the way, seek help from relatives, neighbors, passers-by who could be with you until the doctors arrive.
2. Take a sitting or lying position with your head elevated, provide oxygen access – unbutton the collar, open the window in the room.
3. Measure your blood pressure, if it’s high, take drugs to lower it.
4. Except in exceptional cases, a patient with a suspected development of a heart attack or stroke should not be transported by private vehicle to a medical facility, because. dangerous complications may occur during transport, the treatment of which requires qualified medical assistance and appropriate equipment.
5. If there is intense pain in the chest, under the condition of normal blood pressure, you can put 1 tablet of nitroglycerin under the tongue or take 1 dose of nitro spray (if necessary, you can repeat after 5 minutes, but no more than 3 times).
The effectiveness of the treatment of heart attack and stroke, further prognosis and quality of life significantly depend on how quickly you seek medical help after the onset of the first symptoms. With every minute of delay, the likelihood of developing life-threatening complications increases.
The main cause of heart attack and stroke is the formation of a blood clot and blockage in the arteries that supply blood to the heart and brain, respectively. The sooner the patient seeks medical help, the sooner he will receive the necessary treatment, aimed primarily at restoring the blood supply to the heart and brain. The shorter the time of blood supply deficiency – ischemia, the fewer heart and brain cells will suffer. Thus, the immediate hospitalization of the patient contributes to the fact that in most cases it is possible to restore blood flow in the vessels of the heart and brain, save a person’s life and ensure good health in the future.
It is important to remember that a heart attack can pass “quietly”, that is, without symptoms or with a slight manifestation of them. “Silent” or oligosymptomatic / asymptomatic myocardial infarction is a myocardial infarction that is not accompanied by intense pain in the chest, a feeling of tightness in the chest. “Silent” heart attacks often develop in older people, in patients with diabetes, mental disorders. They make up about a quarter of all heart attacks. There should be a certain vigilance and knowledge that a heart attack does not always proceed in a standard way. Recognizing a “silent” heart attack by symptoms is not easy: mild discomfort or burning behind the sternum, sudden onset of shortness of breath, unexplained weakness, loss of consciousness, numbness of the hands or lower jaw, discomfort between the shoulder blades, pain in the upper abdomen, cold sweat, nausea, vomiting may be manifestations of a “silent” heart attack. The main danger of a “silent” heart attack is that it is diagnosed late (or not diagnosed at all) and the patient does not receive timely treatment. This can lead to negative consequences. If a “silent” heart attack is recognized quickly, then it does not differ in course and prognosis from a heart attack with normal manifestations.
How to avoid heart attack and stroke in the country?
- Take your medications prescribed by your doctor regularly.
- Drink plenty of fluids, especially in hot weather. In the absence of medical contraindications, the amount of fluid drunk in the summer should be at least 2 liters per day. If you have heart failure, it is best to consult your doctor.
- Check your blood pressure and pulse regularly.
- Avoid excessive physical activity, heavy lifting.
- Avoid prolonged work in a position in which the head is lower than the body. When working in the garden and in the beds, use low chairs and stools, choose working equipment with long handles so that they can be used without bending over.
- Try to take breaks after every 30 minutes of work.
- In hot weather, it is necessary to reduce physical activity as much as possible.
- Avoid overheating. Be sure to wear hats, refrain from clothing made from synthetic fabrics, and prefer to work in the shade.
- Avoid sudden temperature changes.
Source: aif.ru
